


Exequy

by Whirlibirb (Draikinator)



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: American Sign Language, Death, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, imposter syndrome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-31 18:18:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19431505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Draikinator/pseuds/Whirlibirb
Summary: Link stared ahead, at the thin ribbon of smoke that drifted from his little incense stick, jammed into the mud somewhat unceremoniously. After a moment, he pulled his hand away from Sidon's wrist, his fingers drifting toward his throat, and then down, kneading the collar of his tunic, before he sat up, turning to make his hands clearer.'I did not know them,' Link indicated, nodding back at the spot. Nearby, old ruins of deactivated guardians sat, covered in moss and being reclaimed by nature. 'But I am the only one who knows they are dead. I have to mourn them, because no one else will.'





	Exequy

"What are you doing?" Sidon asked, innocently

Link nearly jumped out of his skin as he shot up from where he was sitting, hand fumbling for his sword before he recognized the voice.

Flustered, Link shoved his sword back into its sheath and shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably, before signing, 'How did you find me?'

Sidon cocked his head to the side, "You're in a very large field. It wasn't difficult to find you. I could see you from the river."

Link looked a bit unhappy about that, and sat back down where he had been before the Prince's interruption, crossing his legs in the grass. Sidon trotted forward to sit beside him.

"I apologize for intruding, and I assure you I was not on a mission to find you. I was merely passing through on my way to the Northern Outpost and saw you in the distance; I thought it a fortuitous occasion to say hello. I can leave, if you would prefer."

Link shook his head, shrugging awkwardly, 'It's fine. You can stay.'

Sidon peered curiously in front of his friend, wondering what it was he had been doing. It was only now, at this angle, he could see the lit stick of incense and remembered to his mortal embarrassment with a flip of both his stomachs that for Hylians, that usually indicated mourning.

"Oh- oh dear, I apologize, Link," Sidon stammered, "I should not have intruded, I am terribly sorry. I will give you your privacy," he began to push himself up to his feet, but Link grabbed his wrist, gently, indicating he didn't want him to go. He returned to the ground, crossing his legs. Their knees brushed together, and Sidon noted curiously that Link's hand remained on his arm, scarred fingers wrapped loosely around his wrist.

"...We aren't in a graveyard," Sidon noted, cautiously, as he surveyed Hyrule Field, "But I know of the battle that took place here, a century ago. Did you… lose someone important to you?"

Link stared ahead, at the thin ribbon of smoke that drifted from his little incense stick, jammed into the mud somewhat unceremoniously. After a moment, he pulled his hand away from Sidon's wrist, his fingers drifting toward his throat, and then down, kneading the collar of his tunic, before he sat up, turning to make his hands clearer.

'I did not know them,' Link indicated, nodding back at the spot. Nearby, old ruins of deactivated guardians sat, covered in moss and being reclaimed by nature. 'But I am the only one who knows they are dead. I have to mourn them, because no one else will.'

Sidon blinked. It seemed a strange thing to say. A great many people had perished in the calamity, but this assertion was so bizarrely specific. The sign Link had used to indicate the person who had passed was nothing more than a gesture to where he had jammed the incense, and alluded little to whether he was referring to a man, a woman, a person who was neither, multiple people, an animal, a general concept- A person who's family and friends had all perished, perhaps, leaving no one living to remember them? It seemed I like Link to be so emotionally involved in a stranger. The pride of the Hylian people, lost now with them scattered to the winds, a now homeless race? It seemed like an individual, but Link had such a habit of being vague and keeping things close to his chest Sidon did not feel brave enough to hazard a guess.

"That sounds quite sad," Sidon said carefully, "the losses during the calamity were many, and tragic for all."

"Mm," Link grunted in agreement. He looked like he wanted to change the subject for a moment, but continued anyway. 'They were killed by a Guardian. That one,' he signed, pointing at one of the deactivated guardians, 'Shot right through the chest. They were a knight. I don't know much else about them.'

Sidon felt a shiver of unease crawling up his spine. It could still be a stranger, or perhaps Link's father, he had mentioned once he thought his father was a knight as well- but he was beginning to doubt that.

"This knight," Sidon said, and Link looked up at him, "Did he die alone?"

'No,' Link shook his head, 'He died protecting someone.'

"Did…" Sidon paused, choosing his words carefully, "Did I know him?"

Link's eyes softened, like he realized he'd been found out, 'Better than me.'

Sidon frowned, feeling somewhat helpless. He could not begin to understand the torrent of feelings that churned beneath the smooth surface of his dear friends demeanor. His life had been so different. Sometimes, to Sidon, it felt as if Link were ten million miles away, communicating only through old recordings, as if he weren't really present in a moment, having already moved on somewhere else. Untouchable, as if a Zora trapped beneath an unbreakable sheet of ice on a frozen river, doomed long before they ran out of breath while those closest to them could only watch from the other side, clawing desperately the surface but never strong enough or fast enough to get through in time. He could sink into the abyss at any moment, within arms reach and yet too far away to save.

"Perhaps. If so, then…" He shifted closer to Link, only just so, but he saw Link's eyes move toward him, taking notice of the action. "Then you may take me at my word when I say, for what I knew of him, he was a good man. Kind, but quiet. Someone who would never have allowed himself to die without having done the very best that could have been done."

Link's eyes softened, staring down at the grass. The wind tugged gently at his hair, pulling it barely out of his face for once. Sidon noted the deep, pale white gash that ran across his face now, between his eyes and across his nose asymmetrically from his cheek to his forehead. A scar with such a placement that few living mortal beings could carry it. Sidon had seen him only a week prior, but there had been only clean skin at that time, and now his friend bore a scar that looked years old. He knew from experience within another week that, too, would be gone, likely replaced by another pale reminder of mortality that defied all logic. Sidon had never asked about them. He wondered if he ever would.

"He would have liked you, I think," Sidon said, finally.

Link lifted his chin, blinking in surprise, before he huffed a breathy laugh and sat up with a soft smile. 'You really do always know what to say, don't you?'

"Well," the Zora prince said, puffing up a bit to hide the rising anxiety between his ribs as the words tumbled from his mouth, playing up as much bravado as he could muster, "I have quite a bit more to say if you'd like to listen."

For a beat Sidon wondered if the Hylian Champion would tell him to leave when he laughed and shook his head, but he leaned forward, snuffing the near burnt-out end of the incense with one hand.

'I'd like that.'


End file.
